


After the Battle

by Ancalime1



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, But Mostly Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-snap, author just does not care anymore, um this is not good and lacks substance but whatever man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 23:26:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16775047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ancalime1/pseuds/Ancalime1
Summary: In the ruins of the forest, Thor and Bruce find each other.





	After the Battle

**Author's Note:**

> A million apologies for the general decrease in quality of my writing. I'm finding it's getting harder and harder for me to generate content for these two. This was written just days after I saw Infinity War last May, but I've only just gotten around to posting it till now. Enjoy to whatever extent possible.

After the Battle

~~

  
Thor is weak-kneed, and he staggers as if in a drunken stupor. His senses feel extraordinarily numb—he doesn’t hear the words of disbelief that Steve chokes out, he doesn’t smell the ash that flickers past his nose. The world feels frozen, and the ground is strange and unfamiliar beneath his boots. He vaguely wonders if this is how it feels, to be whole one second and to fade to nothing in the next. His eyes wander to the pile of dust that Steve is crouched over. A lump rises in his throat, and he swears he tastes ash on his tongue. He wonders if he is to be next, if he is to disappear into dust as well.

He doesn’t. He keeps walking.

He trudges on past Steve’s crumpled form, as if in a trance. He’s not sure what’s driving him forward. He feels aimless, lost, as if adrift in space once more, mere seconds after the Statesman had been destroyed.

He gasps as the sudden memory of the decimated ship comes like a knife twisting into his side. He stumbles, loses his footing, then leans on a tree to steady himself. He begins to heave in deep breaths. Deep, labored breaths, that feel too much like the ones he took in his metal bonds back on the Statesman. He feels their weight on him now, clamping down on his shoulders, constricting his chest. He sees the outlines of the bodies of Heimdall and his brother, their eyes clouded and lifeless, one final plea swimming within their depths. He lets out a pained grunt, but he gets back up. He grits his jaw. He keeps walking.

Dust. All around him are tears and dust. A soldier’s hollow sobs fill the air, ringing through his ears. Once more he wonders if he’s next. He begins to grow anxious—not for himself, but for another on his mind. He needs to find him. He needs to be sure….

He breaks into a jog, nervously scanning the forest. _Come on, Banner,_ he thinks, beads of sweat forming across his brow. _I didn’t cross the entire galaxy just for you to be dead._

A patch of metallic red and gold catches his eye. His breath hitches, and he halts beside a small waterfall. His heart jumps into his throat just then—there, trapped beneath several fallen stones is Banner, still inside the massive Hulkbuster armor. He’s ragged and red-faced, and his hair hangs in sweat-drenched strands against his forehead. He grunts, and moves his remaining metal arm to heave a stone off of himself. It doesn’t work.

“Banner!” gasps Thor, rushing to the doctor’s side. “Banner, hang on. I’ll get you out.”

A look of surprise crosses Banner’s face, which promptly melts into weary relief. He holds perfectly still as Thor lifts the stones off of him. “Thor,” he says, his voice hoarse and tired, but filled with gratitude. “I’m... I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Thor doesn’t respond. He’s not sure he’s okay really, but he certainly is glad to see Banner in one piece. He gives him a weary smile and heaves the final stone away.

He helps Banner out of his suit, and grunts in surprise when the man collapses into his arms. Sobs wrack his body, and he clings to Thor like a lifeline.

“I thought I lost you,” he says, voice cracking. “I was so scared, I…”

He doesn’t finish the sentence, but grips Thor tighter. Tears begin to blur Thor’s vision, and he wraps his own arms around Banner’s body, which is wonderfully solid beneath his touch. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

“Don’t go,” whispers Bruce. “Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t.”

They stand there in the wreckage of the forest, holding each other in silence. In the distance, the sky begins to tremble with thunder.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Comments renew my lust for life, so please leave one or twenty at your convenience. Also feel free to say hi to me on tumblr @autistic-thor. Thanks dears <3


End file.
